Building on Educational Excellence

Expertly creating a bright future for students and community

Guided by the tagline, “Bryan Built,” Bryan City Schools (BCS) is a shining example of educational excellence in Williams County, Ohio. In the words of the district, “We carry out the goal each and every day to help our students reach their full potential, grow as an individual, and participate in one of our many opportunities that guide them toward success, both now and in the future. We commit to community collaboration, service above self, and shaping the leaders of tomorrow.”

With this in mind, every initiative, from classroom instruction to facility renovations incorporates this philosophy. “It is placing a focus on our values, of who we are,” Superintendent Mark Rairigh explains. “Bryan Built is what we live by.”

A Foundation of Core Values

Further to this, Bryan City Schools operates under three core values, encompassing the BCS acronym – Being your Best, Connecting with the Community, and a Commitment to Serve. “It’s about displaying your best attributes in all that you do, putting your best foot forward to showcase who you are. We have a fantastic community that surrounds us and supports our school system, and it provides so many opportunities for our students,” Rairigh details. “It’s our job to prepare kids in their K to 12 experience, to be ready for the world beyond high school. We really pride ourselves on serving others and making sure that our students are getting the best out of us, we’re going to see the best out of them in return.”

Embracing Innovation in Early Education

Recognizing the connections to long-term academic success, Bryan City Schools has organized its elementary curriculum to build a strong foundation in reading and writing. “What we’re really looking to do is set the foundational approaches,” expands Rairigh. He notes that BCS uses a combination of Letter Land curriculum and early diagnostic testing to provide a base for student performance. “We can use that data to enhance them throughout their grade levels, moving forward, to help them be prepared to move into the middle school age,” he relays.

BCS has also integrated technology and STEM into its curriculum from the early grades. As a one to one district, each student has a Chromebook for research and projects, while educators use the Google Classroom platform to upload assignments and learning experiences. Along with this, BCS has incorporated STEM into the curriculum, with students in grades 3 to 5 rotating through a daily STEM class designed to spark creativity and problem-solving skills. Superintendent Rairigh imparts, “Right here in Williams County, Ohio, a vast majority of our jobs are manufacturing and production-based. So, there’s a wealth of opportunity right here in our backyard to get into a career field that involves STEM. Our goal is that we can start integrating those skills with our students at a young age, and hopefully by the time they’re at the age of employment, they’re able to then use those skills for a career.”

Career Readiness

Progressing into middle and high school, the district’s commitment to student success becomes more personalized, with opportunities that match individual interests and goals. Pathways in media arts, family consumer sciences, and engineering and STEM, through programs like the Project Lead the Way curriculum, equip students for life after graduation.

One notable example is the district’s popular media arts pathway, which was originally a course in video communications, but has quickly evolved into a comprehensive media arts curriculum. “We’ve partnered with a local individual who had a television production company. He is now on staff with us, and we have our own streaming network known as the Golden Bear Sports Network,” elaborates Rairigh. Through this, students broadcast athletic events, and other school happenings such as plays and concerts, participating in everything from broadcasting to filming and editing.

A $2.5 million grant from the state of Ohio will further enhance career readiness, helping to bring a Career Tech Center to the district. This addition to the current high school and middle school building will bring opportunities for students to participate in industry-related classes, learning a range of new skills including HVAC, electrical, plumbing, auto mechanics, as well as life skills. Rairigh recounts, “We’re very fortunate to have that grant, and that fits in with our whole pursuit of giving our students those career-ready skills. We’re excited about the additional classes that we’ll be able to offer and the experiences that they’ll be able to have in part with that facility addition.”

From Athletics to the Arts

Bryan City Schools has also embarked on a series of capital projects, as Rairigh describes, “Our focus is on what I call the big three A’s. Those are, in no particular order, academic, athletics, and the arts. We want to have a well-rounded approach to offerings in those areas for our students.”

The revamping of the district football stadium, in partnership with community donations awarded to the Athletic Boosters, is a point of pride for BCS. This project included the addition of turf, lighting upgrades, and a video scoreboard. “The whole idea of those upgrades was for that chunk of land to have benefits to as many programs as possible. We were pleasantly surprised with how often that field now gets used by people through the school and the community,” he conveys. The transformation continues, with the dirt from the football field relocated to an old elementary property, creating a new practice field for school and community sports teams. “We’re trying to have a really nice outdoor facility that has appropriate playing fields, very safe and very plush with grass. Our whole goal, from the school board and myself and our administration down, is connection with the community, and how we can provide more opportunity for our students, and in turn, the community as well,” Rairigh emphasizes.

Along with this, the district will be adding a new gymnasium to the Career Tech Center. “We consolidated down to one campus approaching 10 years now, and with that, the gym space has always been at a premium,” he admits. This new area is specifically designed to serve as the junior high gym, doubling as a community space for a variety of organizations and events. Plans are also underway to enhance the weight room facilities, offering improved access and integration with the athletic programs.

As for the arts, a 1917 auditorium is being renovated to meet the needs of today’s students and the Bryan community. In collaboration with community partners and aided by state grants, the district will demolish underused portions of the building, while upgrading backstage areas, expanding rehearsal and dressing room facilities, and creating a new, spacious lobby that can double as a gallery and community gathering space. The auditorium itself will be rejuvenated, bringing it up to modern standards. “All in all, we’ve got just under $12 million worth of projects that we’re embarking on,” highlights Rairigh. “Some like the football field turf are phase one complete, but then we have all these other things that are still in the works and breaking ground here in the very near future. It’s very exciting to be a part of the whole process.”

A People-First Approach

Underlying all of these initiatives is a deep commitment to people. “Schools are serving students, they’re serving community members, they’re serving the staff,” underscores Rairigh. “Always keeping people first is our primary goal each and every day. We are blessed to work with amazing people who have amazing talents, who have great ideas, who allow initiatives to be carried out appropriately, and who truly care for kids, who truly care for the individuals around them, who truly care for the community.”

Noting that the district is fundamentally a “people industry,” Rairigh points to the valued collaborations and partnerships that contribute to BCS’s success. He shares, “The Bryan Area Foundation, along with the city of Bryan as a whole have a mission to continually enhance and grow the city to be the best that it can be. We really work hand in hand with each other, and it allows a lot of the projects that we have, or the initiatives that are thought of, or the visions that are taking shape, to carry themselves forward and to become a reality.”

Looking Ahead

As Bryan City Schools continue to evolve, the coming years promise significant change and growth. With several projects already underway, Superintendent Rairigh is optimistic about the future. “In 2025, we will start to see those projects come to fruition,’ he states. ‘It’s been a wealth of planning and envisioning behind the scenes, with a lot of committee networking and discussions over the past months and years. Now, we get to see these visions unfold into reality.”

As each milestone is achieved, the future of Bryan City Schools continues to offer a clear example of what it means to be Bryan Built.

At a Glance

Who: Bryan City Schools
What: An innovative K-12 school district
Where: Williams County, Ohio
Website: www.bryanschools.net